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There’s always a cocktail that ends up stealing the season—and in my house this year, it’s the Aperol Cinnamon Spritz.
It started as a playful twist on a classic and quickly turned into one of my go-to pours for winter hosting. It’s bubbly, lightly spiced, and just bold enough to feel like something special.
This is a spritz you can pour at golden hour during a December dinner party, serve at a casual gathering with friends, or even sip fireside with a book in hand. It’s easy to build and impossible not to love.
To understand the twist, we have to start with the classic. The original Aperol Spritz is a longtime staple in Italian cafés—Aperol, Prosecco, soda water—lightly bitter, refreshingly sweet, and bright with citrus. It’s simple, stylish, and made to be built right in the glass.
For this version, we take the same framework and infuse it with the flavors of the season.
At its base is Aperol, the vibrant Italian aperitif known for its bitter-sweet orange profile and signature red-orange hue.
It brings a touch of zesty complexity and that instantly recognizable color that makes every glass feel like a celebration.
To that, we add apple cider—not juice, but true cider with a bit of depth, richness, and just enough tang. It rounds out the bitterness of the Aperol and nudges the whole drink into fall-winter territory, adding a natural fruitiness that feels cozy and fresh.
Then comes the real magic: cinnamon simple syrup, made by simmering cinnamon sticks in sugar and water until the whole house smells like holiday baking. The syrup adds warmth and gentle spice, mellowing the bitterness and making the drink feel softly festive.
To heighten the profile just a little more, a splash of ginger liqueur adds brightness and bite.
Its spicy-sweet character plays perfectly with the cider and cinnamon, giving the drink a lovely tension between sweet, sharp, and smooth.
And of course, we top it all with Prosecco. Dry and bubbly, it brings the effervescence that defines a true spritz—lifting all those richer ingredients so the cocktail still feels light and drinkable. It’s the bridge between cozy and celebratory.
The garnish is a visual and aromatic final flourish: a single cinnamon stick and a piece of star anise resting atop the drink. As you sip, the spices release subtle fragrance, drawing you in and rounding out every note of the cocktail.
Step 1: Fill a stem glass with plenty of ice.
Step 2: Pour in all your ingredients aside from the Prosecco.
Step 3: Top off the rest of the mixture with Prosecco.
Step 4: Garnish with a cinnamon stick and star anise.
The Aperol Cinnamon Spritz is what happens when the easygoing charm of a summer spritz meets the warm, spiced layers of the holiday season. It’s bold but not heavy, festive but unfussy, and always ready to shine when the moment calls for something a little different.
(And don’t forget to check out my other variations on the Aperol Spritz – the Fall Aperol Spritz and the Apple Cider Aperol Spritz.)
Post your creation on Instagram and tag #queenbeemixology or @queenbeemixology!
